Police pay reflects risks of the job: Brantford police chief

Almost half of those on the so-called Sunshine List of City of Brantford employees came from the police service in 2022.

Brantford Police Service had 160 people earning salaries of $100,000 or more on the list last year, up from 141 people in 2021.

At the top of the list was Chief Rob Davis with a salary of $253,503.45 plus $21,617.53 in taxable benefits, an increase of $32,353 overall since the previous year.

First-class constable Balbir Singh went from a salary of $165,795 in 2021 to $240,188 last year – a jump of almost $75,000.

“Balbir Singh is a devoted employee who worked a significant amount of overtime in 2022 to serve our community,” said Davis by email in response to a set of questions from The Expositor.

“The Brantford Police Service is exceptionally grateful for Sgt. Singh’s dedication and commitment.”

The earnings of deputy police chief Jason Saunders came a distant third on the list at $189,999 plus taxable benefits of $11,571, the same as the previous year.

Five police inspectors earned from $172,016 plus $1,867 to $216,689 plus $1,893 in taxable benefits.

Police Sergeant Mark Baxter, who is currently the president of the Police Association of Ontario, earned $172,731 plus $7,141.

Seven staff sergeants earned from $142,457 plus $1,044 to $169,107 plus $1,532 in taxable benefits.

Also on the list was Andrew Balog, who was suspended in March 2019 and never returned to work. Balog was convicted of mischief for destroying evidence in a case against him and, later, charged with fraud allegedly involving his insurance company. Those charges were later withdrawn.

Balog, who was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, resigned from the BPS in February.

Chief Davis notes the $100,000 threshold of transparency has been the same since 1996, when the Public Sector Salary Disclosure Act was put in place in Ontario.

“Adjusted for inflation, the real benchmark would be around $165,000,” said Davis.

“With this figure, BPS would have 11 members on the list.”

Davis said officers are paid for the “important, and often dangerous, work” to protect and serve the community.

“Especially considering the recent, tragic line-of-duty deaths, it is important to note that police work is demanding and dangerous. The pay and benefits are structured to help reflect those risks.”

The chief added that pay is negotiated with the local police association and police board while trying to compare fairly with services in other communities.

He said staff leaves, COVID-19 related absences and policing services that are provided for other organizations or events — with funds later recovered — all contribute to the increasing salaries.

It’s traditionally been difficult to pin down the number or names of those on the $100,000 list who work for the OPP.

Unlike municipalities, school boards and non-profit agencies that are listed by name, Ontario Provincial Police employees are all lumped together in a provincial list of more than 5,000 people.

Detachments sometimes have provided either a list of those making $100,000 or more or a list of employees that can be cross-checked.

This year, The Expositor was told the OPP would not be providing information.

After requesting the information from the Ministry of the Solicitor General, The Expositor was given lists for Brant and Norfolk OPP.

There are 49 people from the Brant detachment on the list out of about 71 employees.

Train order Insp. Lisa Anderson earned $143,709 and her replacement, Insp. Andrea Quenneville earned $174,203.

Angela Ferguson, who was also the interim detachment commander for a time in 2022, earned $191,044.

Norfolk OPP has 127 employees on the $100,000 list but declined to say how many people work at the detachment, urging The Expositor to file for that detail through Freedom of Information.

According to the 2018 progress report released by the Norfolk OPP, the detachment had about 104 employees then, with 88 of them sworn officers, and, in the fall of 2020, Norfolk County Council was told there were about 93 full-time equivalent uniformed officers in Norfolk.

Insp. Phil Carter, $176,680, and Insp. Jodi Kays, $175,822, each served in the role of Norfolk detachment commander in 2022.

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